


what stays below, what flies above

by herhorizon



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, Pseudo-History, long live queen vivian!, this is just an ode to haseul's elf ears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 08:07:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15881997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herhorizon/pseuds/herhorizon
Summary: Story behind Queen Vivian's favorite painting.





	what stays below, what flies above

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by Vivi's part in Hi High choreo, where she sits on a throne of Haseul and Olivia while Gowon crowns her. I believe Haseul volunteered for the position.

 

 

Queen Vivian looked up from the maps in front of her and let the talk of the council members pass her by like an unpleasant thought. The men seemed to think that she was glad to be inside the castle walls and talk about borders, kings and peasants like they were nothing but pawns in a royal chess game.

 

 

She looked outside, feeling a weariness in her very soul. Behind the glass an intoxicating blue sky gave no thought to her worldly matters. Even as the Queen, she was always a servant to the sky, to the sea and to the earth, no matter what the poets wrote in their sonnets, making her as powerful as nature itself.

 

 

She saw how a white dove flew past the windows and descended gracefully, until it was but a flash of white far below. It was dizzying how high the northern tower was, but she welcomed the feeling. Anything that made her feel alive was welcome in her kingdom, _even a war_ , she thought grimly.

 

 

She noticed a figure of a hunter on the green field. There was nothing unusual in the scene, not even when the dove landed on the man's shoulder. The castle hunters would come and go between the fortress and the forest of _Elleron_ , sometimes alone, sometimes in groups and sometimes followed by hounds or hawks. The men were solitary creatures who hardly went to town, and even if they did, they went together seemingly more afraid of the people in the vicinity than the creatures among the woods.

 

 

Yet, something in the image below touched her as the man sent the dove back into flight. The line of arms and the way they moved - there was grace and precision in them. It had been a long time since she had last found joy in other people and the little things they did, as too often their demands and desires clouded her vision. Hope began to bloom in her chest, perhaps the hunter could be different?

 

 

Drawing a breath, she made her decision.

 

 

"Bring that man to me once we are finished here," she said, making the council members stand taller and straighter from the surprise before craning their necks in unison, trying to see what she had seen. She liked the look of mild terror on their faces when she surprised them, as it was comforting to know that she could still make a room full of grown men cower in fear.

 

 

A servant boy rushed out of the room and Vivian looked down on her maps once more, eager to flee the prison of her responsibility and to see the freedom that followed the hunter like a shadow.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Haseul's heart was running like a river when she ascended stony stairs behind a servant boy who seemed just as frightened as she was. She had given a hare and two ducks to another servant at the courtyard, ready to go back to the forest when she had been told that the Queen wanted to see her.

 

 

She could hardly grasp the idea, it was as absurd as if an owl had told her that God wanted to speak to her. Gods and Queens were so far above her that she tried not to think of them, until in those moments of coming slumber when her body and mind relaxed and filled with things greater than herself, weaving a web of glory.

 

 

Perhaps she was dreaming after all, and at the end of the stairs a door would lead her back to the forest and to the waking world, making her run around in circles in her own mind.

 

 

The servant stopped at a wooden door and looked back at her, trying to communicate something to her she could not understand. She was glad for the hood and the cloth for hiding most of her face, all anyone could see was her eyes and she knew they held power that she often lacked in spirit.

 

 

The boy looked away like she had slapped him.

 

 

He opened the door and a blaze of light rushed into the staircase making Haseul squint. A part of her felt the need to prepare her dagger, that she kept hidden under her clothing, but she only bit her lip, straining her body and mind. She had left her bow with the servant downstairs and now longed for it, even as it could not be used at close quarters.

 

 

They walked into a large chamber, the kind Haseul had never even dreamed of. There were tapestries as large as the walls and every little detail had been made to look exquisite, mimicking real life and transcending it. She felt wrong to be there, her mere presence casting a disturbing shadow on the walls around her.

 

 

Before she could properly take it all in, the servant boy said something and retreated out of the door they had just came in.

 

 

Sitting on a chair in front of Haseul, was the Queen.

 

 

"Your Highness," Haseul yelped and fell to her knees, staring a hole into the thick carpet under her. On any other occasion she would have noted the beautiful handiwork of the carpet under her knees and she might have ran her hands through the quilt because it reminded her of the moss in the forest, but at the moment she could hardly breathe.

 

 

The Queen rose from her chair and Haseul heard the rustle of fabrics, making her heart flutter. She hadn't seen the Queen's face properly, but she knew it was hers, just from the glow of power around her that made the whole chamber hold its breath.

 

 

"Reveal your face," the Queen demanded as she stopped a step away from the huntress. Haseul's hands shook as she lifted the hood, pulling it back and revealing her thick black hair that she kept in an unruly braid. Lastly, she untied the knot of the cloth around her face and let it fall, holding the ends of it in her hands, unsure where to put it and where to look.

 

 

The Queen gasped.

 

 

"You are a woman!"

 

 

Haseul swallowed and closed her eyes. She was waiting for the harsh words and the threats that would drive her out of the castle and the kingdom and into the path of unknown. She had taken the path before and could take it again, but the thought was a grim one. She had learned to love the forest of _Elleron_ like a home.

 

 

A cold hand took a hold of Haseul's jaw and lifted her face upwards. She was so terrified that she couldn't help but look at the Queen with open eyes, certain that the ruler could see everything written on her face. She forgot herself and let her gaze devour the delicate woman above her. She had expected someone older, someone who looked like the years of rain and wind on the castle stones, not a young woman with deer's elegancy and oak tree's strength. She was achingly beautiful.

 

 

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, for I am no man," Haseul breathed out, silenced by the hand on her face that caressed the line of her jaw and the curve of her cheek. Haseul tried not to lean into the touch or close her eyes - she knew what it meant to surrender.

 

 

"There is nothing to forgive," the Queen said and smiled. "What is your name, huntress?"

 

 

"Haseul, Your Majesty."

 

 

"A wise child from the sky," the Queen murmured, immediately getting the meaning behind the huntress' name. Haseul was certain that somehow, with only that one sentence, the Queen had stolen the ownership of Haseul's soul from herself.

 

 

The Queen beckoned her to get up by touching her shoulders and Haseul stood up, dizzy from the proximity and the things said and done. She was acutely aware that the ruler was staring at her from top to bottom, taking in her dark clothes and wind-kissed cheeks. Slowly, the Queen's face light up like the sun had peaked out of the window.

 

 

"Could you do something for me?" The Queen asked, as if Haseul had a choice, as if anyone ever said "no" to a Queen.

 

 

"Anything, Your Highness," she said and meant it.

 

 

The Queen clapped her hands twice and a door on the left opened, revealing an older woman with an aura of responsibility.

 

 

"Your Highness?"

 

 

"Bring me the painter."

 

 

The woman bowed and turned, leaving as swiftly as she had arrived.

 

 

"You are to stay with us," the Queen said and walked to the window, looking through the glass that reflected her face back to her, seemingly much more distant than a moment ago.

 

 

Haseul stood in the middle of the chamber and tried not to stare at the back of the Queen or her light brown hair tumbling down narrow shoulders. She felt the press of dagger against her hip and wanted to pull it out to comfort herself, but she chased the idea away. She would have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable if she was to stay in the castle.

 

 

"You will have your own chamber," the Queen continued, "-and the tailor will make you new clothes. If there is anything you need, there will always be a servant close by."

 

 

 _Why_ , Haseul wanted to ask. Instead she said, "I am eternally grateful for your kindness."

 

 

"Do not be hasty with your gratitude," the Queen said and Haseul could hear the amusement in her voice. She couldn't brush off the feeling of constantly saying the wrong things.

 

 

The door opened again, and a tall, bony man walked in as if he was the King of Seven Kingdoms and the descendant of the Sun.

 

 

"You asked for me, Your Majesty," he said, his voice rich with color and warmth, a strong contrast to his outward look of malnutrition and ill-treatment. He was a strange combination of style and lack of it, looking and feeling foreign.

 

 

"Ah, Sebastian!" The Queen smiled as she turned around, allowing him to enter the warm circle of her companionship like an old friend. Haseul crinkled her nose.

 

 

"I want you to paint her."

 

 

Suddenly, all eyes were on Haseul and she remembered a deer from the previous winter, alone in the forest clearing, surrounded by wolves on all sides, with no place where to go. Haseul had watched it die, letting nature do as it liked, in good and in bad. She felt helpless then and she felt helpless now.

 

 

The painter stared at her with icy blue eyes that were the most unnatural pair Haseul had ever seen. His face light up with a glow of the hunt that Haseul had seen so many times on the hunters' faces. She wanted to step back and run, but she stuck her boots deeper into the carpet and stared back with blazing eyes.

 

 

"With pleasure," the man said and turned to the Queen, finally letting Haseul breathe after the scrutiny.

 

 

"Any suggestions?"

 

 

"Paint her with a white dove," the Queen said, smiling to some private joke and Haseul wondered, what had she promised to do and what would it cost her, besides her freedom?

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Vivian noticed the acceleration of time immediately after she met the huntress. The knowledge that the woman was in the castle made her blood run quicker. It was as if she had hidden a secret between the walls and nobody shared the secret with her, except for the painter. His interest in the huntress was purely visual, but for Vivian she meant so much more. She had wanted to _feel_ something and had gotten more than she had bargained for.

 

 

Sadly, she had no time to dance around the kingdom and whisper confessions to the wind. She was not a young servant girl, but a Queen and she would have to play the role to the very end - pick it up the first thing in the morning and shred it as the last thing before bed. Thankfully, she had learned to hide most of her many faces behind a mask of authority.

 

 

One morning, when she was discussing matters with the head of the council, she saw the huntress on the courtyard. There she was, practicing with a sword, yielding it as lightly as the guards, wearing a dark green garb that wasn’t designed specifically for a man nor a woman -  only for the huntress. (She made a note to praise the tailor.) It was ideal for free movement and made the Queen think of dancing. How wonderful the woman would look in the hall under the candlelight, the ornaments of her clothing shimmering together with her eyes.

 

 

Vivian stuck her heel between cobbles and had to pull it out, glad that her dress hid most of the bother.

 

 

She felt herself blush and just then the huntress noticed their presence, head turned towards the tower they were heading for. Their gazes met in the middle and both wondered if it could be possible for the other one to see them fully, unlike anyone else had ever seen before. The huntress reached out with her eyes, pulling and caressing something inside Vivian that she had not noticed before, emptying and filling a hole in her chest at the same time.

 

 

They both looked away and Vivian tried to collect her thoughts, chiding herself for being foolish. All she needed was fresh air and no more talk of taxes. She was only growing bored with the court and the council, playing with a commoner’s heart and intellect to pass the time. Or, the commoner was playing with her, using a strategy Vivian had not encountered yet.

 

 

Pressing her lips together, she tried not to regret the painting she had already ordered to be made.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Haseul felt trapped in the castle.

 

 

She missed the cold of the early mornings when the fire had died away hours ago and the morning dew was trying to sneak under her blanket. She missed the stars and their song-less dancing as they twinkled at her, not caring about her human tendencies to look for signs and meanings in things. She even missed the thirst and the hunger that creeped in from time to time, depending how far she had ventured in her search for game.

 

 

In the castle, everything was as easy and comfortable as it could be. There wasn't a thing too small that she couldn't tell a servant to do and it bewildered her. She wasn't above them in rank and they knew it - they didn't understand why they were serving a poor commoner and Haseul didn't either. She hid herself as best as she could, pretending that the servants were after her life.

 

 

The servants weren't the only ones that made her feel uncomfortable. The long hours with the painter made her want to jump out of the window as his hard, cold eyes probed her from all sides. He rarely talked to her, mainly muttering to himself and the canvas. Haseul liked it that way as it was already hard enough when he made a comment about her looks or posture like he was trying to buy a horse from the market square.

 

 

Worst of all, was that he expected her to hold the bow rigid at all times until her shoulders would ache even when she could finally drop her hands. In the early hours of the morning she would wake up to the ache and wonder when she could hunt again and not just point out at imaginary animals inside the tower room.

 

 

Thankfully, she was free during the mornings as the painter slept until midday, his mind heavy with the wine that he kept drinking as he painted. Haseul walked around the castle and the courtyard, either admiring the art or the craftmanship in the finest details or practicing with a sword. She was still clumsy but the years with a dagger and a bow made her a swift learner.

 

 

The hours passed by slowly and no matter what she did to spend them, it didn’t change the fact that she longed for the Queen who was the only reason she had not fled. She had not seen the other woman in several days and even before it had been nothing but a shared glance on the courtyard. The Queen was like a dream she kept coming back to, and each time that she did, the meaning changed according to her shifting feelings.

 

 

Such was her state of mind one afternoon, as the sun shone from the window behind her, making her shadow tall on the discolored wall ahead of her. She had slipped into void of boredom when the door behind the painter opened.

 

 

"Stay as you are," the Queen said as she burst inside, glowing with warmth and joy as if she had just been released from something horrible and was finally free. Haseul had to look away or she was afraid she might run to the other woman, so contagious was her mirth.

 

 

"You are besting yourself, Sebastian," Queen Vivian said as she stopped to regard the canvas. The painter smiled like a Cheshire cat and Haseul couldn't look at him, she hated how she could smell the wine in his smile from across the room and how the Queen didn't seem to mind.

 

 

"Thank you, Your Highness," he said and stood closer to the woman. "The muses have been kind to me."

 

 

"Without a doubt," the Queen said and Haseul wondered what the painting looked like. She hadn't been able to see it and the painter seemed to make sure that she wouldn't. Maybe it was some artistic superstition that she was too simple to understand.

 

 

"There is just a minor detail I would like to change, if I may," The Queen said, and the painter nodded enthusiastically, like she was his apprentice master teaching him.

 

 

To Haseul's amazement, the Queen stepped away from the painting and approached her with a smile that reached her eyes and made them curve. Without noticing, she lowered the bow and turned, forgetting what she was there to do.

 

 

"May I?" the Queen asked as she halted right in front of Haseul so that they were properly face to face for the first time. Haseul nodded, unable to form the correct words or the thoughts behind them, feeling small in front of the other woman even as they were almost the same height. She stared as the Queen reached out and touched Haseul's hair. She let it loose from a simple braid and smoothed it out as the subtle curls cascaded down the sides of the huntress' face.

 

 

Haseul stared at the Queen's lips that were slightly pinched together as she concentrated on the task at hand. They were so close that Haseul could feel the Queen's breath on her face and the minty scent reminded her of a wild flower with a fleeting name she could not recall.

 

 

With the cold touch that she had felt once before, the Queen brushed some of Haseul's hair behind her ears. The lips parted, and the Queen seemed pleased with the result, as she caressed Haseul's locks for one last time, hands lingering like a halo around the younger woman’s head.

 

 

"That should do," the Queen said, end of her sentence fading away as she looked at the huntress straight in the eye, momentarily lost like Haseul had never seen her before. She seemed unsure of something, but before Haseul could search for the meaning behind such look a voice interrupted them.

 

 

"What a brilliant idea, Your Highness! She is like one of the elves," Sebastian cheered and made the Queen drop her gaze for a moment.

 

 

"She certainly is," she said and glanced back at Haseul from under her eyelashes, putting a spell so strong on the huntress that her heartbeat stopped and then rearranged, starting on a new rhythm. Her hand on the bow was turning white from the knuckles, making blood pulse painfully in her fingers.

 

 

Soon after the Queen left the room, and everything appeared to turn normal, Haseul still struggled with her bow. It felt alien to her and if someone had told her she was holding it the wrong way, she would have believed them. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Vivian was losing sleep.

 

 

The chamber was too hot and too dark, suffocating her. She would get up at odd hours of the night and walk to the window, throwing the thick curtain aside and letting moonlight and wind play hide and seek on her face. She pressed a sweaty hand to a sweaty temple and breathed out, trying to calm her racing heart.

 

 

She had vivid dreams that she could not remember once she woke up, but she felt them long after the last remnants of sleep had vanished. The deep, barely there, arousal and the faint aching of heart made her want to escape the castle and herself, but where could she go?

 

 

She moved her hand from her temple to her chest and pressed it flat on her sternum, feeling the arrogant beating of heart that refused to calm down despite her best efforts.

 

 

"You are killing me," she whispered, and the words dropped out of the window and fell down the tower side. She hoped they would reach the sleeping form somewhere down below and tickle her ear, just enough for her dream to change its course and tease her mercilessly.

 

 

She felt the change in the air and even as she wanted to prolong the situation she had created, she knew that it was out of her control. She was afraid of the aftermath of the huntress’ departure. The crown felt light in comparison - anyone could carry the burden of power. But how about the burden of love?

 

 

It grew heavier on her until she was certain it would make her kneel before her, turning a Queen into a commoner.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Haseul's freedom was waiting for her.

 

 

The painter had released her with reluctance, evidently more charmed by her company than she was of his. She was only waiting to see the finished artwork, knowing that the Queen would be upset if she left before the reveal. Her feet were aching to touch softer ground, but she willed them to stay, putting up with the annoyed stomping on the cobbles.

 

 

She was a bewitched foreigner in her own body. Before the Queen’s arrival, the only power strong enough to yield her had been the power of wilderness and the hunt, but now she could hardly bring her thoughts to gather on the topic. She was losing the image of the path in front of her, for the first time unsure where she was and the fear of being lost made her angry.

 

 

She drowned her heart in poetry that she could find from the castle's vast collection of books. Yet even there she found only mentions of love, where the face of the nature had been harnessed to bring pleasure to lovers and sufferers of unrequited love. She was certain that she would never be able to see the forest the same way again, for it would remind her of love between two people, love that took shapes so wonderous only nature could compete in beauty.

 

 

The Queen had tainted her sanctuary and she could not salvage it.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Vivian saw the lone figure sitting on a bench by the fountain long before she herself was noticed. Her heart soared, and she stopped, wanting to stay hidden for a moment longer. It wasn't often when she could go undetected, as in the universe of court she was the sun that everyone circled. However, the huntress didn’t seem to know of such things, making the Queen feel more like the moon than the sun - only there to borrow light from a greater source.

 

 

Suddenly, the huntress lifted her head as if sensing something and her keen eyes searched the surroundings, until her gaze met with Vivian's. The huntress became ever more still, and Vivian thought she was a small girl again, catching a sight of a rare animal in the undergrowth. If she moved now, she might scare the animal away, but if she didn’t, she wouldn’t get a better look to satisfy her curiosity.

 

 

 _Only thing running away is your heart,_ she thought and began to approach again, remembering her role and station as a ruler who should not show signs of hesitation in her own garden.

 

 

"I hope my interruption isn't looked upon unkindly," she said and smiled, trying to appear gentle and harmless, still afraid that Haseul might turn into a hare and bolt, leaving her book open on the bench.

 

 

"Not at all, Your Majesty," the huntress said and left her mouth ajar as if to continue.

 

 

They remained silent for a moment, listening to the light babbling of the fountain and the cheerful tunes of the birds in the old trees around them. The light coming from above was made gentler by the many branches reaching towards the sky. The garden was Vivian's favorite place in the castle and she often sought solace from it, but today it felt bittersweet, laced with a melancholy of departure.

 

 

"Sebastian will hang the painting tonight," Vivian said and looked down, playing with the hem of her dress.

 

 

"Will you come see it?"

 

 

"It would be my pleasure," the huntress said, eyes steely and almost accusatory. The look pierced Vivian like a hot blade and she wanted to apologize, but she didn't know why.

 

 

"You are free to go afterwards," Vivian said, stumbling over her words in a rush to cover her guilt. "I won't keep you from your calling, but I hope you stay in my kingdom."

 

 

The huntress' hands twisted in her lap, fighting a battle against emotion. Vivian noticed it from the corner of her eye but didn't say anything. It was getting increasingly hard to look at the other woman, who stayed silent, suffocating Vivian without trying.

 

 

She got up, wanting to get away from the strange woman who had come into her life dressed as a man, offering none of the joys Vivian had looked for, but a selection of deeper shades straight from the heart of _Elleron_. Once again, she wondered if the huntress was human after all.

 

 

"Join me in my chamber after dusk," she said, trying to regain her royal composure. She turned, not letting herself glance back, and took a step before she felt fingers curling around her wrist.

 

 

"I will be there, My Queen," the huntress said quietly and moved her thumb against the inner side of the Queen's wrist. Vivian swallowed, fires running up her arm and then she was let go, lightly like the huntress knew that she would always come back to her as if she had been trained like a hawk or a hound.

 

 

Vivian hurried out of the garden like a thief who has just given their stolen treasure to an even greater villain.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Haseul put on her court-appropriate clothing for the last time and picked up a candle, disappearing out of the door once she had made sure that everything in the chamber was in order. She would only have to change and then she would be ready to go and leave the place behind.

 

 

She could already feel the wind calling her name as she ascended the stairs, the shadows of candlelight dancing around her. She liked the castle more when it was dark and quiet, making sounds that were merely echoes from ancient times. In the darkness, it was clear that the stones didn't belong to men, but that the men belonged to the stones, like she belonged to the wood.

 

 

She knocked on the wooden door and felt, more than heard, the answer from the inside. She pressed the iron handle and released a shaky breath, remembering the first time she had walked through the said door and how nervous she had been then. The feeling hadn’t changed, but now she knew exactly why she should be cautious.

 

 

"Your Majesty," she said and bowed, after the door had closed and they were alone in the chamber of candles. The Queen was wearing a long white nightgown that was simpler than the ones Haseul had seen the Queen's contemporaries wearing - she liked it, it made the Queen look younger. Together with her long braid and bare feet, she was more like a forest fairy than a human.

 

 

"Here you can call me Vivian," the Queen said and made Haseul look up in shock.

 

 

"If only for tonight," she continued, walking to the huntress and taking her hand in hers. Haseul nodded, losing the battle she had been preparing for, before it had even begun. She was already intoxicated and unable to take her eyes off the Queen - Vivian.

 

 

Vivian guided the younger woman slightly to the left and with her free hand she grasped a cord by the wall. She looked at Haseul in the eye and the huntress nodded, signaling that she was ready even as the look seemed to convey so much more than it appeared.

 

 

Vivian pulled the cord and dark green curtains parted, revealing a large painting in black and brown frames. In the picture a young, elf-like woman with fierce eyes was standing by the side of the forest, gaze fixed on something outside the image. The woman's bow was lifted, and the strength of the body was conveyed perfectly with mere paint - the watcher knew that when the arrow would be set free it would find its target with lethal precision that was kind in its swiftness.

 

 

And on the huntress' left shoulder sat a white dove, comfortable and safe by the side of the hunting woman, softening the aura of the dark forest and the power of the hunter.

 

 

"It is called _The White Bird of Elleron_ ," Vivian said, caressing the words with her tongue.

 

 

Haseul's eyes welled up, breath struggling to get out of her chest. She felt beautiful for the first time in life and it wasn't the fading, harmless beauty of the town girls, but a beauty that was running out of her heart and through the bow on her arm. It was akin to the beauty of the Queen - the beauty of a powerful woman.

 

 

"I am in awe of you," Vivian whispered and reached out to wipe tears spilling down Haseul's cheeks. "I have been in awe of you the moment I saw you."

 

 

Haseul looked away from the painting and shook from the power of the words. Vivian looked at her as if the stars were shining only because they wanted to greet Haseul every night. She was afraid that if she saw the look for much longer she would combust, bursting from the sheer heat.

 

 

They gravitated closer, unsure who started it and why. Haseul's tears dried, leaving her eyes sharp and hungry. Vivian saw the change and matched it with a dark look that might have scared away anyone, especially those who had heard the wild stories of the Queen's ruthless nature and disregard of mercy.

 

 

"Vivian," Haseul breathed out, her lips close to the other woman's ear. Vivian closed her eyes and shivered, skin under her nightgown laced with goosebumps. Her nipples ached from wanting to be touched for the first time in after such a long time. In her mind, she saw Haseul's strong hands caressing her body, expertly like she was handling prey.

 

 

"Stop this flirt with madness," Vivian said and sighed, as a pair of arms closed around her waist, pulling her in. Haseul pressed her lips on the skin under Vivian's ear and made them both lose all sense of control.

 

 

Haseul kissed Vivian on the lips, relief washing over her. It was as if she was coming off for air after a long, cold dive in the river in mid-winter. She was certain that they might begin to float in the chamber until they would feel the press of the ceiling above them, the only thing keeping them from flying to the sky.

 

 

Vivian pushed them towards her bed until Haseul's legs hit the side and the impact made her lose balance so that she ended up sitting on the covers. Vivian took a step back and they watched each other panting and delirious, not remembering or caring what their roles were in the haze of lust. The Queen and the huntress had left, leaving only Vivian and Haseul behind.

 

 

"Off, take it all off," Vivian commanded, surprised how she could manage to sound so authoritative in such state.

 

 

Haseul unbuttoned her shirt, willing her hands to stop shaking. She could hardly concentrate on what she was doing as Vivian was throwing her nightgown on the floor, revealing nothing but smooth skin underneath. Haseul was wearing several layers of finery and slowly, agonizingly slowly, each layer came off all the while Vivian stared, unabashed by her own state of undress.

 

 

Once Haseul was naked, Vivian sauntered to her and straddled her lap, head falling back as Haseul pressed sloppy kisses over her stomach and chest. Vivian pulled at Haseul's dark hair until they kissed again, falling backwards into bed, sheets fluttering from shyness around them.

 

 

And what Vivian already knew, was confirmed. Haseul worshipped her body, using her skilled hands, strength and stamina unlike any man or woman she had encountered before. The younger woman was an ardent lover, kissing and licking with eyes closed as if she was in heaven, murmuring poetry on Vivian’s skin.

 

 

"Haseul," Vivian moaned as the huntress took her into her mouth, humming from happiness. Vivian couldn't analyze each stroke of tongue even as she wanted to understand what Haseul was doing, making her nearly perish from pleasure. She could hardly hear the wet sounds coming from Haseul's mouth meeting her cunt, nor her own moans, whimpers or screams. She could only feel the oncoming wave, that was a sight, a sound and a taste all at once, threatening to turn her mad.

 

 

Then, for the first time, Haseul opened her eyes and looked at her Queen until their gazes met. Vivian saw the same fierce look that was portrayed in the painting and like the huntress' prey she surrendered to Haseul, giving the matter of life and death into her hands, completely without protection.

 

 

She came hard, scream dying on her lips, so loud that it could not be heard at all. She rode the wave, flying in light like one of Haseul's arrows until she hit the target.

 

 

Darkness surrounded Vivian and she let it take her, feeling a warm body wrapping around her as she fell down from the highest highs to the lowest lows, free as a bird.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Vivian stirred in the early morning when it was still dark, but the earlier pitch black had been replaced by darkness with a hint of iron and silver. She felt cold and the feeling kept her from falling back into slumber. She opened her eyes, only to see a figure sitting by the side of the bed, watching her.

 

 

"You are leaving," she said hoarsely, noting Haseul's hunting gear and bow.

 

 

"I have stayed for too long," Haseul said, her voice tired but warm. It made tears sting at the corners of Vivian's eyes. Haseul reached out and rested her palm on Vivian's naked chest. She placed her own hand on top of it, the heat of their connected skins still making her breathless.

 

 

"Will you return?" she asked and wanted to laugh at herself for ever thinking that a Queen could have any real power. Here she was begging a hunter, a commoner to stay with her like a trapped animal in a world she didn’t belong in. She wasn’t so cruel, but she wanted to be.

 

 

"When the time is right," Haseul whispered and leaned down, kissing Vivian slowly like there was nowhere to go and nothing to do but make love.

 

 

"Goodbye, My Queen," Haseul said as they finally pulled apart, the coldness of the room making Vivian shiver. Luckily, the darkness was kind to them, hiding their sorrow from each other.

 

 

"Goodbye, huntress."

 

 

Haseul stood still for a moment before she slipped out of the room leaving Vivian to wipe her own silent tears. The source of the tears remained unknown to her as she was both happy and sad, teetering on the edges, feeling more than should have been humanly possible.

 

 

She got out of the bed and dressed herself in her disregarded nightgown. She walked to the window and looked outside, seeing the figure of a hunter on the field, not far from the edge of the forest. A white bird flew across the morning grey and landed on an arm that was gracefully lifted to receive the flying companion. Together they approached the forest, eventually disappearing between tree trunks and bushes.

 

 

Vivian sent them off with a Queen's blessing, wondering how much it mattered in an unforgiving forest.

 

 

She turned, facing the day and the crown, both lighter than before, for her heart was running free in the forest of _Elleron_.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> First Loona fic and first post in ao3, yeehaw! My diet consists mainly of comments so please feed me, thanks.


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